Gustavo Rodriguez goes from MMA/Muay Thai to boxing

Rodriguez who has fought professionally in mixed martial arts and Muay Thai since the age of 18, is now ready to see what he can do as a boxer.

Rodriguez will make his pro boxing debut at 8 p.m. Friday in the Col Ballroom in Davenport, Iowa. The “Boxing At Its Best” event will have 12 fights and costs $20 for general admission. He is scheduled to fight Reymundo Hernandez in the light middleweight 154-pound weight class.

“This is going to set the tone for my career,” said Rodriguez, who said he has a 17-8 record in MMA fights and 14-5 in Muay Thai. “That’s how I see it. I am not looking at my age. I feel I have the best of both worlds because I have the knowledge of what it’s like to be a pro from fighting MMA and Mauy Thai, so I’m not trying to prove myself like a young fighter. I don’t have that pride anymore.”

Rodriguez, who grew up in Tampa, Florida, moved with his family to Rockford at the age of 13. He started amateur boxing at 15, but by the time he was 18, he had discovered MMA and eventually went pro in that sport as well as Muay Thai, which is another combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques.

Rodriguez is learning that those clinching techniques won’t work as a boxer. For the past three and a half months, he has worked with former local boxer Skylar Thompson, a Guilford graduate, at Fight College Inc., to develop his punching, footwork and fighting techniques.

Thompson, 32, retired two weeks ago after nine years as a pro fighter (12 wins, 12 losses, 10 KO). He said he wasn’t getting the fights he wanted and now wants to pursue a career as a ring announcer and boxing promoter to help fighters such as Rodriguez.

“He has shown a lot of dedication,” Thompson said, and drew a comparison with World Boxing Organization welterweight champ Manny Pacquiao. “We had a long discussion about the sport before he made his decision and I told him that if he was dedicated, then I would be here. As long as he showed me the effort, then I would show up. There have been times when I said let’s go for a run at 7 a.m., and he’s there at 6:30. I said to myself, ‘He is serious’.”

Rodriguez praised Thompson, a former Illinois State Silver Gloves champion, for his expertise and support.

“I’ve loved the transition,” Rodriguez said. “I have a coach that is fully dedicated as I am, and I am motivated and I have guidance. I didn’t have good management in MMA and it just became stressful. So, it’s nice to have someone who has gone through it and is giving me knowledge.”

Thompson said Rodriguez has a solid career ahead of him despite turning pro in his 30s.

“As long as you can take a punch and you know how to throw the correct punches, then you are fine,” said Thompson, who plans to get Rodriguez three more bouts by the end of the year. “The less you get hit, the longer your career lasts. As long as we match carefully, he can go to 37, and if he keeps his body in shape and don’t do extra stuff, he will be more than fine.”

That extra stuff would be competing in MMA fights on the side.

“I told him that I would slow down doing MMA,” Rodriguez said. “I want to give boxing my total focus.”